It's 10:57 PM my time, EST, and she's asleep. You can see her breathing with her head tucked. I hope she can stand the cold.

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

I found out later that the eagle has a 105 degree core temperature, and that the eggs are about 74 degrees. Not long after I posted the one above, she woke up. They can withstand temperatures up to -21. Wow.

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

It's snowed overnight in DC. Flo and Po are late this year, compared to years past. No eggs, yet, but the First Lady is just getting her brood patch ready (the feathers slough off the underside of her breast, leaving a bare bit of skin to warm the eggs with.) Truth be told, I'm glad the brooding hasn't begun, not with the way the weather's been.

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

The couple is late this year. But they could still have eggs, up until June. If there's no babies by then, they'll leave again until this fall - God willing, though, I still hope they'll be able to parent if they desire. That nest looks mighty inviting.

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

WE HAVE EGG!!!!!! *passes out cigars* Please don't smoke them, they're bad for you, but I'm so happy !

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

There be TWO EGGS in that there NEST!!!! At 2:46 PM, The First Lady (a.k.a. Flo, Flotus, Wonder Woman) laid DC7, and is currently in incubation mode .

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

We're 31 days into incubation, so we should see eaglets in the week. It's about 35 days, and the first was laid on the 25th of last month. I'm looking forward to babies.

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

Little DC6 hatched today at 12:16 PM, and DC7 is due to pip soon. The eggs were laid three days apart, so it'll be soon . I'm so happy for these kids!

... I said soon twice...

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

I don't know when the second eaglet pipped, and I can't find out - but! the fact that the babies are here, they are healthy and the weather is nice and warm are all pluses. Right now, DC6 and DC7 are just little balls of fluff. Here's hoping that they both make it through, just like their older siblings did.

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

I was really freaked out the other day when I only saw one eaglet. It turned out that Dad had covered up the one baby with grasses, and it could have been to cool it down, or warm it up, or protect it from the sun (the other kid was in the shade at the time.)

Potus, all the seasons I've watched, brings greens to the nest and it's to augment the diet of fish - like salmon and asparagus. This is so very cool. I love following these birds.

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

The babies have been growing and doing well, we all thought. But a few days ago, the younger eaglet, DC 7 now named Valor, accidentally fledged (he fell from the tree - and yeah, he's a he through DNA testing.)

A search went on until he was found in a neighborhood backyard, somewhere in the 446 acre arboretum. No broken bones or anything like that, but he's thin, malnourished and developmentally delayed . Right now he's in a rehab, getting help to get him back on track. Poor sweetie . These parents have had the best luck with their nestlings and everybody wants to see that continue. Here's the Facebook site if you'd like to follow him:

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

It is with heavy hearts that we share this update. The lack of improvement in Valor’s neurologic symptoms after a week of aggressive supportive care led us to the decision to humanely end Valor’s suffering before his condition deteriorated further. We learned yesterday afternoon that Valor had tested positive for West Nile virus; we had suspected that this was the cause of his symptoms. Infection with this virus is not always fatal in birds; however, after seven days of intensive supportive care, Valor remained slow to respond to stimuli and displayed no signs of improvement. He had to be force-fed as he showed no appetite and refused to hand-feed or self-feed. Valor was extremely lethargic and had head and body tremors—signs of advancing West Nile disease. Our professional assessment was that it was extremely unlikely that he would recover, even for placement at an educational facility. Subjecting him to further treatment, handling, and captivity and prolonging his suffering would have been inhumane and contrary to our principles as wildlife rehabilitators. A necropsy will be performed at another facility.

In the past five years, we’ve treated 300 Bald Eagles along with over 10,000 other wild birds that have relied on us for care. As professionals, we do our very best for each and every single patient, as we always have and will continue to do, and this includes Valor. We share the deep sorrow you feel for his loss and hope you know that your passion for native wildlife matters. It is so inspiring to see the community rally behind a wild animal in need; thank you to everyone who showed support for Valor and Tri-State. While this outcome was not what we wanted, there are thousands of success stories of animals receiving a second chance at life in the wild at our center and wildlife rehabilitation centers around the world—this is what motivates our staff and volunteers to continue caring for wildlife in need every day. To understand more about West Nile Virus please go to: https://www.raptor.umn.edu/our-research/west-nile

Thank you all again for your support. Thank you for your understanding that we do not have the resources to reply to individual questions or phone calls about this case. - from The American Eagle Foundation Facebook

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

Results aren't back as of my post from the necropsy on Valor, but it sounds like West Nile was the culprit. I've been following this nest for some time, and it's the first loss I've seen with this pair. I'm sad, but he's not suffering and that's what counts.

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

The findings confirm several things. First, Valor was indeed male. Second, West Nile Virus had caused severe softening and swelling in one area of his brain; this accounts for his neurological symptoms. Some evidence of parasites in the gastrointestinal tract was found, but this is very common in wild birds, and in this case, likely had little to no effect on his condition. Finally, tests for Influenza A as well as multiple toxins were negative. - from SparkyC_AEF (Admin): Aug 22, 2:51 PM

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus